Shino's Happy Ending
by ReaperDuckling
Summary: "My elders want me to marry…" Kurenai stopped in the middle of her movement. Megumi gave her a light punch on the cheek. "…and you need a father for your baby." Part of the Happy Ending series. Friendship Shino/Kurenai and some hinted romantic Shino/Hinata


**AN: **This was written completely spontaneously, and I still think it's one of the greatest things I've ever written

**Warnings: **Bugs!

* * *

_**~8**__**th**__** of June~ **_

They put up another war memorial.

A simple stone standing next to the other by the graveyard, the one from the third ninja war, with name after name after name of family and friends and coworkers carved into it with small, delicate letters.

The name at the top of the list was Tsunade's.

Her name was traced with gentle fingers by Shizune, that was sitting by the foot of the stone sobbing quietly even as Kakashi held his speech to the villagers, _his _villagers now, of how the fallen would never be forgotten, of how they were _heroes. _

He spoke pretty words of peace and new beginnings, the syllables rolling off of his tongue clumsily, and had to fight the urge to smile (_a twisted, sad smile_) when he caught himself telling everyone about the will of fire, and the springtime of youth.

Kakashi watched his people morn; watched Tsume hug Hinata to her harshly (_the older woman crying for the death of her only son, the younger for her comrades and her father_), watched the cold emptiness swim in Ino's, Shikamaru's, Chouji's and Lee's eyes, and the tears that fell freely from Naruto's cheeks (_he cried for them all, friends and strangers, deceased and those left to live with the weight of it. It made Kakashi think bitterly about how he should have been made Hokage, how much more __**worthy **__Naruto would have been_) – and it made him think about the joint shinobi army, about the pretty words of alliances and friendship, about one nation, one people.

And yet, the only names written on the stone were the ones of Konoha's own.

In death, everyone had been divided, and everyone was alone.

He thought about his meeting with his father in the afterlife, and wondered how many others there were sitting there now, staring at the flickering of flames in the darkness of limbo, awaiting their loved ones.

He wondered if Neji was one of them, waiting to tell Lee that it was alright, he'd given his life willingly but they'd always be friends, please be happy? Was Hiashi sitting next to him, waiting for Hinata and Hanabi?

He wondered if Tsunade had been reunited with Jiraiya, and if, at least in death, he'd finally found the courage to tell her how he felt.

A mental image of Shikaku, Chôza and Inoichi sitting by the fire, laughing and reminiscing about the good old days of their life's while awaiting their children and wife's struck him suddenly, making him force down a smile.

And then another, one of Rin and Obito (_a child in death. Innocent and pure, like he'd once been, before war and death and __**pain**__ had crushed and malformed him_) sitting by the fire, waiting for _**him**_, for them to be together again like they were meant to – and suddenly he knew, he just _**knew**_, that they'd be alright.

There was a wedding ring around his finger, spreading warmth throughout his entire body, and before he knew what he was doing, Kakashi found himself walking up to Shizune by the stone and putting a hand on her trembling shoulder.

He raised his head, and spoke to his people.

"We'll be alright… _They're _watching over us."

_**~12**__**th**__** of June~**_

If it had been anyone else breaking into her bedroom at 2am in the night, Hinata might have been worried.

As it was, Shino and Kiba had been sneaking into it, ready to whisk her off on some midnight adventure ever since they first got assigned to the same team; so when she awoke to the sudden lightening of weight on her bed and a cold wind ruffling her hair softly, she didn't clench the kunai hiding underneath her pillow _too _tightly.

After all, Akamaru seemed calm enough.

A quick sneak peak with her Byakugan confirmed her suspicions – there, on the window sill, Shino was sitting in a green pajamas and sunglasses, waiting for her to acknowledge him.  
Undoing the eye jutsu, she sat up in bed and gave a small yawn before turning to her friend with a sleepy smile.

"You can come in you know. It's chilly outside."

"I like it here."

She gave a small chuckle - that response was so much like him, it was pleasant to know that at least _something_ was constant in her life.

The big, white ninja dog walked up and gave his hand a lick, and he ruffled the canine's head back lovingly.

"You've been dreaming again."

It wasn't a question.

"So have you."

There was a long, comfortable silence during which Hinata simply watched Shino petting the dog, illuminated by the moonlight, and _thought. _

She thought about her cousin, about her father and of Kiba.

She thought of the howling that haunted her at night, and how lucky she was to have someone left that _understood_.

"They're going to make me marry." He said suddenly, making her blink at him in surprise.

"You t-too?"

Shino smiled bitterly.

"Yes. I suppose that's what they make us clan leaders do now, right?"

"Yeah…" she smiled back, before she made the decision to crawl out of her bed, knowing full well that she was stark naked, stand up and cross the room to embrace him softly.

If he was embarrassed, he showed no signs of it – they'd been friends for _so long_, fighting and crying and laughing together, that this kind of intimacy didn't seem too intimate any longer.

He only wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in her hair.

"I wish I could marry you." She whispered against his chest, only allowing herself the smallest of blushes.

"Me too." He responded. "It's funny… I always thought that when I'd be clan leader, I'd get to do what I wanted. Apparently, that's not the case."

Hinata smiled bitterly, holding on to him tighter.

He was strangely talkative tonight.

"Have they decided yet?"

Something heavy and cold settled in the pit of her stomach.

Her smile died.  
"Yes…" she mumbled.

"Who?"

Finally deciding to pull away, she went and covered herself with a bathrobe and then crouched down on the floor next to Akamaru.  
When she started rubbing him behind the ears, he gave a low grumble of appreciation from the back of his throat and put his head into her lap.  
"His name is Darui…" she said, avoiding eye contact by concentrating on the dog below her instead. "…he's from Cloud."  
"I've heard of him. He's a war hero."

"Yes, and, apparently, he doesn't have a blood line technique to out wage mine in our future…" she swallowed thickly. "…ch-children."

"That makes sense, I suppose… considering your family's history with the cloud, it's probably meant as a peace offering."

She forced up a shaky smile and turned to look at him, trying her hardest not to get angry.

"You sound just like the Elders."

They fell into silence again, more loaded this time, and Hinata turned back to petting Akamaru in a desperate attempt of regaining some sense of calm.  
She heard Shino slid down the window sill, into the room, and froze in place when he crossed it to stand just behind her, hand hovering inches above her skin, as if he didn't know what to do with it.

"Naruto doesn't have any blood line techniques either, as far as I know off…" he started, making her hands tremble. She did _not _want to talk about this! "…have you tried…?"

"I have." She turned to him, another fake smile twisting her face into a pained grimace. "They told me that…" the words felt heavy in her throat. "…told me that there wasn't any idea of even asking, that even if he _did _agree it would be because of some sick feeling of _guilt _because of Neji and that… _**that**_…"

Akamaru whined softly.

She was tearing up again.

Her father, her cousin, her best friend – all were dead. Her sister was crippled; she had paperwork to fill and economy to balance, traditions to uphold and a body to work until it was worthy of the leadership of one of the most renowned families of killers in the world; her lifelong dedication to her crush was one sided and useless and she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in _**so long **_how could she continue this way?! How could she-

"Who are you?" The voice was low, barely audibly, yet heavy with anger.

"What…?"

"Who _**are you**_, Hinata?!" Shino almost shouted, and coming from him it was _terrifying. _It made Akamaru whine and slink away into the corner of the room, and Hinata wince and make herself smaller. "What is your _**purpose?!**_ Why did you become strong?"

"I…" she stuttered nervously. "N-Naruto-kun…"

"No!" The word felt like a slap. She fell headfirst to the floor in a bow, frantic words of apology on the tip of her tongue that died the very instant that Shino crouched down beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. "…_who are you?_"

"I…" slowly, she raised herself from the floor and turned to look at him. There was a smile on his face, the truest one she'd seen since the world fell apart and war turned them into adults, and it made a sudden burst of energy and confidence bloom in her chest. "…I am Hinata Hyuuga. Mine is the will of fire and…" she smiled back. "…I became strong for my friends, and my family."

The smile slipped from his features and he pulled away to sit in front of her on the floor.

"Good."

She chuckled.

If it had been anyone else she would have been worried.

Now she just felt at home.

_**~3**__**rd**__** of September~**_

They'd been sitting together in silence on opposite sides of the dinner table for almost twenty minutes; Kurenai taking turns to drink her tea and feeding her baby girl, Megumi, whose face was full of applesauce; Shino staring at them.

Needless to say, things were awkward.

"Soooo…" Kurenai finally began, knowing that if she just asked him straight out, her former student would tell him why he was there. Still, she hesitated, if only because she was kind of scared about the answer. "…why are you here exactly?"

"I have a proposition to make." He responded shortly, making her smile grimly. _Of course_ he wouldn't be there without an ulterior motive…

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

Even though it was hard reading him behind his glasses and the tall collar covering most of his face, it was impossible _**not **_to see the radiant blush that spread all over Shino's body.

The sight almost made Kurenai laugh out loud, but she caught herself before she'd let it out.

If she started laughing at him, she knew that he'd be offended and most likely leave before he'd gotten to say what he wanted – and, against her better judgment, she'd actually gotten pretty curious by now!

Beside her, Megumi gave a loud sneeze, mixing the apple sauce on her face with a long, yellow string of snot, and then began to cry.

Instantly, Kurenai's motherly instincts kicked in and she bended down to wipe the concoction off of her daughters face and coo at her gently.

Apparently, Shino wasn't at all disturbed by this, but actually found it to be the perfect opportunity to dump his proposition onto her.

"My elders want me to marry…" Kurenai stopped in the middle of her movement. Megumi gave her a light punch on the cheek. "…and you need a father for your baby."

Slowly, the older woman looked up at him, completely ignoring the fact that her daughter had gotten a hold of her hair.

"I'd make Megumi my heir. It's a win-win situation for everyone. Let's get married."

For a long, long time, they stared at each other, until finally Kurenai had managed to puzzle together all the pieces and understood what he'd said.

"There's just one thing I don't get…" she said then, and turned back to wipe the last of the goo from Megumi's face. "…don't you need children of your own to pass forward your family's bug technique?"

Another long silence.

"Do you know why there aren't any Aburame clan members over the age of forty, Kurenai-sensei?"

This caught her interest.

"No? No, I mean… there isn't?"

"No."

Surprisingly, he actually pulled down his collar and took a sip of his now cold tea.

"You see, the bugs in our bodies are the Aburame's best friends. They're our life companions; our means of defense, attack and support. They've put food on our tables for generations, and made us into one of the most renowned ninja clan's in the shinobi world…" he put down the teacup and pulled the hood back up. "…they are our blessing, but they are also our curse. Why are they our curse? Because they multiply."

She stared at him.

"I still don't understand."

"Then don't interrupt me."

She sweat dropped.

"When you're a child, it's not a problem, because your body is still growing. But when you reach higher ages, around fifteen-twenty years old, and your body has become fully developed, the bugs slowly begin to become more than our veins can contain. They start eating each other to make more room, and when that's not enough, they start eating their host. At around thirty five-forty years old, the bugs have become so many that the body simply cannot contain all of them anymore, and the Aburame dies."

He told her all of this in his usual, matter-of-factly, detached tone; and to Kurenai, that only made it worse.

Suddenly feeling very, _very _uncomfortable; she cringed on her chair and busied herself with combing her daughter's dark hair out with her fingers.

She'd never known.

How horrible it must be, to live knowing that, one day, you'll die being eaten alive by the creatures that supported you all your life, and that there was no way out of it.

"That's why…" Shino continued, making her turn back towards him. "…I want to make Megumi my heir. Because even though I love my bugs and have long since accepted my faith - no child of mine will ever have to experience the same thing."

Slowly, Kurenai smiled.

"Alright, I'll marry you…" she saw a small twitch in one of his cheeks, that she thought meant that he was smiling back at her. "…on ONE condition!"

He nodded.

"I want a room of my own! And no sex!"

"Certainly. No kissing either."

"Or holding hands!"

"Or silly nicknames."

"Fine with me!"

She reached out her hand towards him, and, slowly, he shook it.  
"Let's get married!" Kurenai laughed.

Shino nodded.

"Thank you."


End file.
